BUT ANYWAY! This week was full of fun
surprises and miracles! We had a really amazing lesson with a new
investigator named Ann! She has lived in FengLin for about 3 years, and
works as a nurse. We met her one night on the way home, and talked to
her for a little bit. She told us she would love for us to come by and
share more! She has such an earnest desire to know the truth, and to
know who God is. I am so happy we have the opportunity to share about
the Restoration with her, and God's plan for her! She is awesome!
Also, we had a crazy English Class on Saturday!
Previously, we have been doing our English Class on Wednesdays, but
without much success. But about 2 weeks ago, we had a very nice lady
come up to us after church on Sunday
asking about our English Class! She told us she has a few friends that
were interested, and we told her we would need about 10 people to really
be able to start another class. And wouldn't you know it! This last
Saturday, this cool lady, and 12 of her closest friends, won an hour and
a half all-expenses-paid trip to the FengLin chapel for English Class!
And it was crazy! Ha, we really enjoyed it, and I'm glad to see English
Class might start becoming a really effective missionary tool in
FengLin!
We also tried another, slightly
less-effective activity that night, as we set up a table at the FengLin
night market to hand out free copies of the Book of Mormon! It ended up
raining, and we had no umbrella, but we were able to share the Book, and
the truth of our message, with a few people! It was an experience to be
remembered! And there's some pictures of it on the Google Drive. It was
a good time.
This last week, and these last
two transfers, have taught me a lot about our attitude changing our
environment. FengLin is a small town, with large rural area in between
it and any other nearby towns. The people are great, but most have seen
missionaries before, and can tend to be a little less than friendly. We
bike for long periods of time, and don't find very many people to talk
to. On top of that, I have an amazing companion, but he does not speak
English, and so it is harder for us to communicate effectively. And it
has been a really difficult experience for me. I have spent a lot of
time on my knees in prayer, and much time in the scriptures, trying to
figure out how I can improve. But, I finally realized this week, that
sometimes things are just gonna be hard. Not every day gets to be your
best day. Not every hour is the best hour of your life. Sometimes,
things are just hard. But you can't allow those hard times to get the
best of you. Each and every one of us is a divine Son or Daughter of the
Most High God. We have infinite potential, that is not defined by our
abilities, our wealth, or our looks. It is defined by the very fact that
we are children of an infinite Creator, who loves us more than we can
possibly comprehend. If we can find a way to remember that truth, to
hold fast to it as the winds and rains of life beat down continuously,
and sometimes torrentially, upon us, if we can truly find the treasure,
and the joy in the statement, "I am a Child of God', then even in the
darkest hours of our lives, we can find peace. We can find hope. and we
can continue on our path, never being thrown off by temptations or
trials. I know God lives, I know He is my Father, and He loves me so
much more than I can imagine. I cherish the knowledge I have of my
Savior, of His eternal sacrifice, and His infinite love. I would not
give this knowledge away for anything in this world. I invite each of
you to ponder for yourself how much your relationship with God means to
you. How much do you love Him, and want His help? How much do you
believe He can help you? I testify, with my whole heart, that He will
help you, He will guide you, He will strengthen you, an He will never
leave you. He gave us the ultimate gift, His Only Begotten Son, Jesus
Christ. Don't waste that gift.
Love,
Elder Shope
P.S,
I'd love to hear from everyone how life is going! You can shoot me an
email, and I will definitely respond as soon as I can!
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